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Velvet Owner Mark Cain Found Dead

Gordo pays tribute to the popular hotel and restaurant owner

Published on January 26th 2015.

POPULAR Manchester hotel and restaurant owner, Mark Cain, was found dead this weekend.

Cain was co-owner of Village institution Velvet, a boutique hotel and bar/restaurant opened on Canal Street in 1996, and more recently Velvet Central which opened on Mount Street by the Town Hall in 2013.

Confidential owner and publisher Mark Garner knew Cain for many years, he had this to say:

"I’ve been collecting characters for decades; ranging from Austrian Counts in Europe to Porn Barons in the Valley in LA, Deans of Universities here in Manchester and pop stars with whips from the sixties.

They are, and in some cases were, good friends.

In the top five of those characters was Mark Cain, a man for whom Rudyard Kipling wrote the poem If.

But Mark was also a pal. And I sit here on a Monday morning with tears running down my cheeks.

To Mark’s family I can tell you this; the last time we both shared a drink in the dark hours just before dawn, having had the piss taken out of me unmercifully for three hours, he talked of you lot with total, unconditional love. He was besotted with you.

I for one will remember the man with the straight back and the glint in his eye.

Goodbye pal."

Velvet

More tributes have been pouring in on Twitter:

Shocked to hear of Mark Cain's death. Thoughts are with Sunny and the Velvet family. Mark was one of Mcr's great operators.

Perfect tribute. Same here, was the harshest critic to your face which was always constructive. Loved to share/ Bragg of family news and always considerate, polite yet quick with friendly razor sharp wit. Just thinking of late drinks in Velvet listening to Bowie over and over with gin.